- The number of industrial startups increased between 2020 and 2022 in France
- Fundraising is up 36% over last year
- Factory openings are a major issue for these companies
It is a valuable new tool to see things more clearly. Bpifrance has created an observatory of start-ups and industrial SMEs. What better to perceive the evolutions and challenges of this sector over time. Let us remember to begin with that these are young innovative shoots that sell products or services dedicated to industrial activity. Their link with the production of physical products is therefore essential.
There were 1,900 industrial start-ups in France last year compared to only 1,500 in 2020. The inventory drawn up by Bpifrance informs us that two thirds of them are located in the Paris region, the others in the provinces.
A major source of jobs
They officiate in very diverse fields with the following distribution: 35% in health, 17% in electronics and photonics, 10% in energy, 8% in robotics, 3D printing and drones, 7% in agro-industry, 6% in industrial chemicals and materials, 6% in consumer goods, 5% in mobility and transport and 5% in waste recovery and depollution devices.
As far as fundraising is concerned, the sinews of war, the year 2022 has been a very good year for industrial startups. They were thus able to raise 3.78 billion euros, which represents a 36% increase from one year to the next.
These companies have also contributed to the creation of 3,000 jobs in 2022. In all, 76 industrial sites, including 68 outside Ile-de-France, were inaugurated last year. As our colleagues from the Echoes, the construction of factories is a major challenge in the change of scale of these startups.
These include Innovafeed, which already has three industrial sites in France, but also Verkor, a large battery company, which wants to build its first gigafactory in Dunkirk in 2025.
investment funds
The public authorities also contribute to the growth of these societies. This is precisely the case of the public investment bank, which is completing its system by launching a fund devoted to industrial start-up during the first half of the year. It is dedicated to industrial startups that offer innovative products.
For its part, the government launched last year an investment fund of 2.3 billion euros spread over five years for industrial start-ups. This envelope concerns hundreds of projects and aims to create around a hundred industrial sites per year.
